Thankful Thursdays - 6/11/15 - The Joy of Doing Nothing

Moms, especially home schooling Moms, often feel the pressure to do more. Keep a cleaner house, make more creative meals, post more pictures on social media, read more books to your children, lose 5 more pounds...the list goes on and on. 

STOP!

Mamas, You need to take just a little while to learn the Joy of Doing Nothing.

The joy of doing nothing does not mean taking the entire day and staying in bed eating bonbons, this is intentional time carved out for your re-creation. Moms are often overwhelmed and the best remedy is spending a few minutes just doing nothing. Just sit. Stare at a flower, or close your eyes and listen to the ice cream truck troll through your neighborhood. Whatever you choose, this needs to be a few minutes each day where you require nothing of yourself. This takes practice, and it takes trust. If you're a tightly wound spring, it may take several days to learn to sit and be quiet. It may take you even longer to trust that God is in control and watching over your family... even when you put down your pen or mop.

Stop doing and just be for a few minutes. Be intentional about taking just a few minutes to rest, like 5 or 10. This learning the joy of doing nothing can lead you to a lot of places. Hopefully it will lead you to trust God more. It is physically, emotionally, and mentally impossible for me to provide everything my family needs on a daily basis - but it is not impossible for God. When I take just a few moments to do nothing, God reminds me that He is always there, providing for us. Some days the few moments lead me to go pull out my Bible, some times they're just a brief respite in the middle of a hectic day. Either way, they teach me to trust. Those moments also allow me a time to clear my head and focus on what IS important for me to provide to my family - love.

I cannot work my way to Heaven, I can only get there through accepting Christ's completed work on the cross in exchange for my sins. Practicing the Joy of Doing Nothing for a few moments reminds me daily that the price has already been paid, the work has been done. It is like hitting the pause button on my over-scheduled life and remembering to see the forest past the trees.

Do you need a pause button for your daily life? Go find a flower, or a sunset, a river or a rock. Spend a few minutes appreciating God's handiwork in creation while you do nothing else. Find the joy of doing nothing for a few moments while you focus on the God Who loves us and provides for our every need. It is our biggest reason to be thankful!